After 25 years in the catering industry I sat on the side of my bed one morning and realised I didn’t want to do it any more. In my time I’d served royalty and all sorts of celebrities, but I’d had enough. When I told my wife I wanted to give up my job as a catering manager she paused for a moment, then said “good” as I’d been grumpy for months. Aged 44, with no clear idea of what I wanted to do, I took a college course then went to St Andrews University to study Scottish history. I loved it. To support myself I worked part time for Historic Scotland as a steward, and loved that too.
 
Eventually everything came together and I got a full-time post at Stirling Castle, showing families round somewhere I remembered so well from my childhood. When the family came to visit relatives in Stirling, dad would take me up to see the castle. There were still soldiers here back then, but what I really remember is that it seemed so huge and magnificent.

Nowadays my job is to make sure families have an enjoyable visit. I meet people from all over the world, which I really enjoy. Occasionally we can make someone’s day very special indeed. An Australian gentleman arrived a while ago whose grandfather had been a soldier in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. He didn’t know this had been their HQ, so we pointed him to the museum. When he came back he was overjoyed. He’d found out all about his granddad, the places he had been and the campaigns he was involved with. That was great. I’ve been here five years now, and I’ve got to say, I couldn’t be happier.

Sandy Easson, Stirling Castle Steward